Islip's Daniel Greenberg dies at 83
Daniel Greenberg, a former Islip justice of the peace, town councilman and an attorney for 50 years died May 30 of heart disease at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore. He was 83. Credit: Handout
Daniel Greenberg was always keen for an amusing story, so he'd have been happy to hear that people were swapping tales at his funeral.
Greenberg, a former Islip justice of the peace, town councilman and an attorney for 50 years, always boasted to family he told the world's best jokes.
"He'd tell people he married hundreds of women," said his daughter, Amy Gannon, 54, of Northport. "And then he'd pause and say he used to be a justice of the peace."
Among his four grandchildren he had a family rule; they could stop him from telling a funny story only if they had heard it six times or more, or if they could recite the story back to him.
Greenberg died May 30 of heart disease at Southside Hospital in Bay Shore. He was 83.
Greenberg was born in the Bronx and moved to Islip at age 11, when his father opened a candy store in the town.
He relished working in the store with his brother and always liked to tell friends he was a soda jerk, making ice cream concoctions, his daughter said.
One of Greenberg's favorite stories was from his days as a soccer player at Central Islip High School. His son, Eric, of Chicago, shared the story Wednesday at his father's funeral.
Because of World War II rationing, getting proper leather soccer spikes was nearly impossible for players. So many resorted to wearing old, worn dress shoes for their games.
In one crucial game, Greenberg was fouled and awarded a penalty kick. Because his worn shoes were more duct tape than leather, he chose a teammate with more appropriate footwear to take the kick. His teammate scored what ended up as the winning goal, although news accounts credited Greenberg with the tally.
"He dined out on scoring that winning goal for the rest of his life," Eric Greenberg said. "So let us be sure today to say congratulations on a great shot to Gus O'Keefe, who actually made the shot and is living now in Florida."
Greenberg graduated from New York University in 1948 and from NYU's law school in 1951. After two years in the Army, he then spent more than 50 years with the Ingerman Smith law firm in Hauppauge.
He also served as director of the Suffolk County Bar Association and was an adjunct professor at the New York Institute of Technology.
In addition to his daughter and son, he is survived by his wife of 59 years, Rhoda; a brother, Stanley Green of Bay Shore; and four grandchildren.
Services were at I.J. Morris Funeral Home in Dix Hills followed by burial at Oakwood Cemetery in Bay Shore.
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